The Authority of Jesus Challenged

 Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

 September 24, 2020

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

“I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!”

Mark 11:29-30

Read: Mark 11: 27-33

 The Pharisees were hoping Jesus would say something that they could use against him; they were not really looking for truth. Jesus exposes their hypocrisy by refusing to answer their question directly.  When Jesus mentioned John the Baptist, Mark wants us to remember that when Jesus was baptized, God anointed him and gave him authority as the Messiah. Therefore, when we, as followers of Jesus, are baptized, we too receive an anointing and authority from God to fulfill our destiny as God’s children. We are the ones God has appointed to be a light to the nations.

In these encounters in Jerusalem, Jesus is modeling for his followers how to use their authority. We are surrounded everyday by scores of opportunities to speak truth into the issues of our times. The economic issues, the political issues, issues of poverty and homelessness, issues of discrimination and bigotry; these permeate our culture. Today and everyday, God is asking, ““Whom should I send as a messenger to this people?” (Isaiah 6:8)

Who will speak for God? We are surrounded by naysayers who cultivate fear and mistrust. Who will share the Christian perspective on the issues of our times?

My Takeaway: God is not looking just to the pulpits for his messengers to speak his word of truth. God is looking for all of his children to speak his word to their neighbors, their children, their grandchildren, and their representatives in government.

The Spirit of Christ within us is calling us to respond, “Here I am. Send me.”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

 Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

 Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.